The Colorado Rockies wrap up their six-game homestand on Wednesday, and it will give their fans a chance to take a breath.
A win against the Boston Red Sox to close out the three-game series in Denver will give them a 4-2 homestand heading on the road for a weekend series versus the Minnesota Twins.
Kyle Freeland (1-7, 7.36 ERA) will take the mound for Colorado against Ranger Suarez (3-3. 2.93) of Boston in a matchup of left-handers.
The Rockies’ recorded a trio of one-run wins on this homestand, and all came with excitement. In victories over Pittsburgh on Friday and Saturday, the Pirates had the bases loaded in the ninth both times, trailing by one run, and couldn’t score.
On Monday night, Colorado trailed 2-0 to start the ninth inning and then recorded four straight hits, the last a bases-clearing triple by Jake McCarthy, to secure a 3-2 victory.
There were no such dramatics in the 5-2 loss Tuesday night, although Ezequiel Tovar provided a little hope with his solo homer in the ninth inning.
“We’re a 27-out ballclub. Even if we’re down 10 runs with one out left, we still have a fighting chance,” said Colorado first baseman TJ Rumfield, who started Monday night’s winning rally with a single.
“We’re still in there creating game plans. We don’t just give up.”
Freeland was the starter for Friday’s win but didn’t factor into the decision in a milestone night for the Denver native. He tossed a season-high 7 1/3 innings and recorded his 1,000th career strikeout, joining German Marquez as the only pitchers in franchise history to reach that mark.
Freeland is making his third career start against the Red Sox, and the first time he will face them at home. In his other two outings he is 0-1 with a 4.63 ERA.
Boston is trying to finish its six-game road trip with a winning record. The Red Sox took two of three in Seattle over the weekend and have split the first two contests of this series. They got a strong performance from Sonny Gray, who struck out 11 in Tuesday night’s 5-2 win.
Suarez is coming off an outstanding start in Seattle. The Mariners were hitless before a one-out double in the seventh inning ended Suarez’s no-hit bid, and he left after getting one more out in Boston’s 6-2 win on Saturday night.
“When I was going into the seventh inning, it was the first time I thought about it,” Suarez said through an interpreter after the game. “Once I realized that I was thinking about it, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. The first [six] innings, I was pitching well and I wasn’t thinking about it. Once I started thinking about it, it didn’t go the way I wanted.”
Suarez has pitched against Colorado seven times (six starts) in his career and is 3-1 with a 2.43 ERA. He has been effective in four games in Denver, posting a 1-1 record and a 3.20 ERA in three starts in the thin air.
–Field Level Media
